Bakgrund I Sverige har de som i sitt yrke har kontakt med barn skyldigheten att anmäla till socialtjänsten om de misstänker att ett barn far illa. Det har dock visat sig att hälso- och sjukvårdspersonal är mindre benägna att anmäla jämfört med andra professioner. Syfte Att undersöka på vilka grunder sjuksköterskor och undersköterskor väljer att rapportera misstankar om att barn far illa till socialtjänsten – eller att inte göra det – samt om det föreligger några skillnader i det avseendet mellan personal med lång och kort yrkeserfarenhet. Metod En komparativ tvärsnittsstudie. Data samlades in genom enkäter med sjuk- och undersköterskor som arbetade inom barnsjukvård vid två svenska sjukhus. Resultat Totalt deltog 60 sjuksköterskor och undersköterskor. Knappt hälften av dessa (n=23, 38,3%) hade någon gång gjort en anmälan. Deltagarna ansåg det mest troligt att de skulle upptäcka och anmäla i samband med fysisk misshandel (n=55, 91,7%), men de flesta anmälningar som de gjort var relaterade till omsorgssvikt (n=42, 75%). Det fanns en gränssignifikant skillnad (p=0.079) i orsak till anmälan där vårdpersonal med lång erfarenhet (n=29, 48,4%) oftare anmält för psykisk misshandel/omsorgssvikt (n=15, 65,2%) jämfört med vårdpersonal med kort erfarenhet (n=31, 51,6%). Dessa hade anmält för psykisk misshandel/omsorgssvikt vid åtta (n=8, 34,8%) tillfällen. Slutsats Det finns ingen bevisskyldighet för den som gör en anmälan. Trots detta hade hälften av deltagarna vid något tillfälle misstänkt att ett barn farit illa men inte anmält det. Det fanns inga skillnader i antalet gjorda anmälningar i relation till yrkeserfarenhet; dock fanns det en tendens att erfaren vårdpersonal oftare anmälde p.g.a. orsaker som kan anses vara något svårare att upptäcka. / Background In Sweden, all professionals working with children are obliged to report any suspicions of child maltreatment to the child protective services. However, health care professionals are less likely to report child maltreatment than other professionals. Aim The aim was to investigate on what grounds nurses and assistant nurses report – or do not report – suspicions of child maltreatment to the child protective services, and whether there are differences in reporting depending on work experience. Method A comparative cross-sectional study. Data were collected using a survey among nurses and assistant nurses working in paediatric care at two Swedish hospitals. Results In total, 60 nurses and assistant nurses completed the survey. Close to half of them (n=23, 38.3%) had at least once reported a suspected case of child maltreatment. The participants considered it most likely that they would identify and report physical abuse (n=55, 91.7%), yet most of the actual reports made were related to some other type of neglect (n=42, 75%). A borderline significant difference (p=0.079) was found in the purpose of reporting, where those with long experience (n=29, 48,4%) reported more often for psychiatric abuse/neglect (n=15, 65,2%) compared to those with short experience (n=31, 51,6%), who had reported for psychiatric abuse/neglect on eight (n=8, 34,8%) occasions. Conclusion No proofs are required of the one who makes a report, yet half of the participants had on some occasion had suspicions of child maltreatment without reporting this. There were no differences in the number of reports made in relation to professional experience, but there was a tendency that experienced nurses and assistant nurses had reported more often due to reasons that can be considered more difficult to identify.

Using a structural approach, this study addresses the issues surrounding direct service delivery of the Family Preservation program in Riverside County.

The proposed research study explored the extent and nature of financial abuse crimes amongst elders in San Bernardino County. This study utilized a descriptive research method. This study identified characteristics of victims and perpetrators, contributing factors associated with financial abuse, the degree of trauma an elder will experience depending on the type of financial crime committed. This study will provide an overview of the different types of financial abuse cases reported and determine if there is a significant difference and/or similarities of these types of crimes committed against male and female elderly in San Bernardino County.

Studien handlar om upplevelser av socialsekreterare som jobbar med barnavårdsutredningar med sin makt gentemot föräldrarna och deras strategier för attminska maktobalansen som finns i relationen. För att besvara studiens frågeställningar genomfördes semistrukturerade intervjuer med tre socialsekreterare i en mellanstor kommun. Intervjumaterialet analyserades med tematisk analys. Studien visade att socialsekreterare upplever att föräldrarna kan känna rädsla eller ilska i deras kontakt med socialtjänsten och socialsekreterare. Socialsekreterare upplevde även att föräldrarnas känslor inför socialsekreterares makt i vissa fall leder till att föräldrarna tackar ja till föreslagna insatser trots de inte vill på grund av rädsla för konsekvenserna eller att inte framstå som dåliga föräldrar inför socialsekreterare. En annan viktig slutsats som kom fram var att socialsekreterare kan använda sin makt annorlundautifrån hur hög eller låg oro de har för barnets situation. Graden av oro som socialsekreterare har visade sig även påverka hur delaktiga föräldrarna tillåts vara i utredningar och i skriftliga rapporter. Det framkom också att socialsekreterare tyckte att tydlighet, att göra föräldrarna delaktiga i utredningar och vissa personliga egenskaper hjälpte till att minska maktobalansen mellan dem och föräldrarna.

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Child sexual assault is a problem of epidemic proportions in the United States with some research suggesting up to one fifth of our nations children being victimized before reaching adulthood. Research has suggested females could be responsible for up to 20% of child sexual abuse cases, and at the same time only represent only 1% of sexual offenders incarcerated the US. This creates a situation where a large group of relatively under-researched offenders are evading detection. Numerous calls for further research have been made, but relatively few studies have had the ability to shed significant light on this phenomenon on a national level. This project utilizes a dataset of virtually every reported child protective services case in the United States for the fiscal year 2010 in order to investigate the dynamics of perpetrator gender on child sexual offending in substantiated cases. Offense characteristics, as well as case level components, were assessed to investigate not only the differences in offending behavior but also the ways gender affects how offenders enter and exit our child protective systems and the services they receive while there. Extensive differences were uncovered as related to perpetrator gender. Models were informed by the female sexual offending literature. Practice and policy implications are discussed.

Child protective services begin with an intake (screening) decision to accept or reject maltreatment reports. This crucial decision may lead to significant positive or negative outcomes for children and families. Little is known about characteristics that intake decision-makers share or factors that influence the decision-making process. Racially-biased intake practices have been blamed for contributing to African American children’s disproportionate overrepresentation in the child welfare system. Concerns have emerged that social workers may hold negative stereotypes about African Americans and parents who use drugs. Stereotypical biases may influence decisions in reports alleging parental drug use and/or involving African American families. This study was conducted to examine the influence of race and parental drug-use allegations on intake decision-making. It was also conducted to identify factors that influence decision-making and to determine whether concepts drawn from naturalistic decision theory and attribution theory are relevant to intake decision-making. A conceptual model for describing decision-making was proposed and tested. Equivalent materials design was employed. Respondents completed an on-line questionnaire that included 24 vignettes describing hypothetical maltreatment concerns. Race and drug use were manipulated between two instrument versions. Respondents completed a 45-item scale measuring racial and parental drug use bias. They also described their application of policy to decision-making and the degree to which they engaged in different types of mental simulation (a naturalistic decision theory strategy) in making decisions. Eighty-seven child protective services intake decision-makers in Virginia participated (67% response rate). The findings suggest that respondents’ decisions were not influenced by racial bias but were influenced by parental drug use bias. Respondents’ parental drug use bias scores were higher than their racial bias scores. Social workers’ racial bias scores were higher than other respondents’ scores. A set of nine primary decision-factors used frequently in decision-making was identified. Finally, respondents reported using their discretion in adhering to CPS policy depending upon their concern for children’s safety. The research contributes to understanding the intake decision-making process. Findings related to worker characteristics, relevant decision-factors, and decision-making behaviors may influence practice and future research. Findings also suggest that naturalistic decision theory concepts warrant further attention and study.

Children and adolescents that reappear for investigation in the Child Protective Services (CPS) can be interpreted as an issue for the social services ambitions to provide service for potential families in need of assistance. This study was based on information gathered from social workers investigating the situation for 882 children during two months, in two municipalities in Sweden. The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and being the subject of more than one previous investigation at the CPS. The study provides an estimate of the likelihood of  being the subject of more than one previous investigation. Results show that certain adversities concerning the child and in the family situation increased the odds of having been exposed to several investigations. Findings from the study also show that the risk of being investigated several times increases incrementally with accumulated adverse childhood experiences.

The term femicide was used to refer to the murder of women. Intimate femicide referred to the murder of women by men with whom they had an intimate love relationship. The purpose of this research was to make visible the intimate and domestic nature of femicide by describing all femicides in Saskatchewan between 1988 and 1992 inclusive. A second purpose of this research was to learn about prevention both from committed femicides and from two women who had survived an attempted intimate femicide. This research was feminist in nature and utilized elements of both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. Data were gathered on all women known to be murdered between 1988 and 1992 from sources such as newspaper searches, coroners' reports, and police files. Based on these data, femicides were classified as intimate or non-intimate femicides and as possibly preventable or not preventable within the femicidal incident itself. Further data were gathered from interviews with two women who had survived an attempted intimate femicidal attack. Both sets of data were then reviewed and themes relating to the prevention of femicide were elicited. These themes focussed on failures of the communities in which these women resided or were murdered, failures of the medical community to correctly identify femicidal men, failures of the judicial system in their dealings with femicidal men, failures of the organized church, and failures of the institution of the family. Ten femicides were classified as possibly preventable within the femicidal assault itself. In addition, the interviews with both survivors identified many areas of possible intervention relating to prevention over a longer period of time. The study concludes with my reflections on the process of engaging in research on femicide, discussions about areas for further research and the identification of possible implications for public policy.

The term femicide was used to refer to the murder of women. Intimate femicide referred to the murder of women by men with whom they had an intimate love relationship. The purpose of this research was to make visible the intimate and domestic nature of femicide by describing all femicides in Saskatchewan between 1988 and 1992 inclusive. A second purpose of this research was to learn about prevention both from committed femicides and from two women who had survived an attempted intimate femicide. This research was feminist in nature and utilized elements of both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. Data were gathered on all women known to be murdered between 1988 and 1992 from sources such as newspaper searches, coroners' reports, and police files. Based on these data, femicides were classified as intimate or non-intimate femicides and as possibly preventable or not preventable within the femicidal incident itself. Further data were gathered from interviews with two women who had survived an attempted intimate femicidal attack. Both sets of data were then reviewed and themes relating to the prevention of femicide were elicited. These themes focussed on failures of the communities in which these women resided or were murdered, failures of the medical community to correctly identify femicidal men, failures of the judicial system in their dealings with femicidal men, failures of the organized church, and failures of the institution of the family. Ten femicides were classified as possibly preventable within the femicidal assault itself. In addition, the interviews with both survivors identified many areas of possible intervention relating to prevention over a longer period of time. The study concludes with my reflections on the process of engaging in research on femicide, discussions about areas for further research and the identification of possible implications for public policy.